MI play Rajasthan Royals in CL T20 opener

The winners of IPL 6 Mumbai Indians will take on Rajasthan Royals, who finished third in the cash-rich tournament, in the inaugural group stage match of the Champions League Twenty20 to be played on September 21 at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.

The CLT20 final will be played on October 6 at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground here, which hosted the first Qualifier and the Eliminator of IPL 6.

The Kotla will also host the second semi-final of the tournament on October 5. The first semi-final will be played at Jaipur on October 4.

The opening group stage encounter will be followed by a double-header at Ranchi's JSCA International Stadium Complex, on September 22.

Brisbane Heat, the winner of Australia's KFC T20 Big Bash League, will play Trinidad and Tobago, the domestic T20 Champion of the West Indies, in the first game.

It will be followed by a duel between IPL 2013 runners-up, Chennai Super Kings and the Titans, South Africa's domestic T20 runners-up side.

Apart from Delhi, Jaipur and Ranchi, the CLT20 matches will also be played at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera (Ahmedabad) and Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad.

The qualifying stage of the tournament will be played from September 17 to September 20 at Hyderabad.

The tournament will follow a format similar to the two previous editions, with the Group Stage preceded by a Qualifier.

The teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to the Group Stage. Q1/Q3 will enter Group A, if either of them makes it to the Group Stage. Q2/Q4 will enter Group B, if either of them make it.

If Q1 and Q3 both make it to the Group Stage, then Q1 will enter Group A, and Q3 will enter Group B. If Q2 and Q4 both make it to the Group Stage, then Q2 will enter Group B, and Q4 will enter Group A, according to statement from the BCCI.

The Group Stage will feature 10 teams. Group A will comprise Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Highveld Lions (winner of South Africa's domestic T20 competition), Perth Scorchers (KFC T20 Big Bash League runner-up), and a team from the Qualifier.